UK-based Touchlight is taking a revolutionary approach to DNA production and has secured a pivotal role in supporting the development of genetic medicine and advanced therapies. As a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) working with over 100 biotech and pharmaceutical companies, Touchlight is committed to providing state-of-the-art facilities to meet the needs of their customers.
At the Touchlight Hampton site, the facility houses multiple Grade C (ISO7 / Class 10,000) manufacturing suites, Grade B (ISO6 / Class 1,000) bulk filling rooms, and environmentally monitored laboratories. To comply with ISO standards and to protect the innovative work being done within, it is vital that these critical spaces be kept free of contamination.
CHALLENGE
Prevention is key and Touchlight highlights that maintaining the integrity of clean areas to prevent the ingress of unwanted dirt and debris can pose a significant challenge. To address contamination in the past, Touchlight, like many other biotech companies, had used peel-off, disposable tacky mats. They found this solution to be ineffective and unsightly. While they had not experienced any issues related to contamination, the potential risk remained a concern.
SOLUTION
Recognizing that 80% of contamination infiltrates a controlled environment at the floor level, with people being the primary contributors, Touchlight actively took steps to find a superior solution to combat this challenge. As a more effective and sustainable alternative to tacky mats, they chose to install Dycem mats in various areas of their facility, including laboratory entrances. Their most recent addition includes implementing Dycem CleanZone in the primary change lobby of their cleanroom facility. The custom solution was sized to fit the facility’s space perfectly, ensuring enough footfalls for optimal decontamination (3 on each foot).
RESULTS
The Dycem mats have proven to be highly effective in meeting Touchlight’s needs, offering a robust defense against contamination entering their cleanrooms via shoes and wheels. This success has not only provided peace of mind to Touchlight and their customers but also underscores the reliability of Dycem in safeguarding critical environments from the potentially harmful and costly effects of contamination.
Because of their successful experience, Touchlight would recommend Dycem to other companies looking to be proactive in preventing contamination from entering their controlled environments at the floor level.
“Contamination had the potential to cause problems in the future, so we wanted to implement an effective solution before contamination became a problem.” – Barry Ward, Manufacturing Scientist
ABOUT TOUCHLIGHT
“Touchlight is built on the principle that if you employ innovative individuals and provide them with an enjoyable and dynamic environment in state-of-the-art facilities, you will get excellent products. Touchlight has developed a novel, synthetic DNA vector (dbDNA™) and enzymatic manufacturing process, which enables them to produce DNA at unprecedented speed, scale, and purity.“